


beneath a starless sky

by shortcircuitify



Category: Pyre (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Happy Ending, Post-Canon, Romance, Self-Indulgent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-08
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-06-07 03:07:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15209513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shortcircuitify/pseuds/shortcircuitify
Summary: Somehow, they all make it out alive, the Downside a long distant memory; but, they are not, and they all find their own way within the newly instated Sahran Union - together.Some self-indulgent snippets exploring and expanding all the possible relationship endings in the game, and a little bit more on top of that.





	1. new habits

A feather curls around his cheek, and he feels a flush crawling up his neck, his breath catching.

“Are you alright?” She asks, her voice sweet, eyes watching him with awe.

Hedwyn brushes her wing, fingers calloused now, different than they were before, “I think I almost forgot how soft your wings are,” he says, part wistfully, but there is a laugh in his voice.

She smiles, her face bright in a way he has never before witnessed, “I never forgot a single thing. Not one.”


	2. theory of honor

Rukey runs a clawed finger down the side of one of his creations – a replica of one of the many bits and bobbles that he found snooping the many corners of the Downside. He sighs – it is a weak replica, a fake, and he feels cold at the thought of that long-ago place.

“Sir Rukey!” The voice is loud, excited, and a large eye pops into his view, “Are you alright, good Sir?” Gilman asks, voice filled with concern and the promise to fix all his ailments.

Rukey smiles, melancholic, “I am fine, my wyrm-y friend,” he pauses, “Although, I sometimes wonder what it feels like to be honorable.”

Gilman’s eye pops even more, if possible, his posture straightening until he is just below Rukey’s chin, “What do you mean? You are one of the most honorable men this knight knows! Why, the Nightwings prevailed thanks to, no doubt, you!”

Rukey takes the replica in his hand, “There is more to honor than triumph.”

Gilman thinks about this for a moment, and, quieter than Rukey has ever heard him, he says, “This knight thinks you honorable, if that is any consolation.”

Rukey places the bobble on one of his store’s shelves and sees the quiet resolve in the wyrm’s eyes. Gilman’s enthusiasm is infectious, and Rukey feels it slowly seeping into his bones, warmth and contentment making him calmer than he has been in many moons.

“What do you say to a spar, my friend?”


	3. Chapter 3

She sighs, runs her fingers through his hair, twines it until they are inseparable.

“Shall we return to the stars, my love?”

He nips her jaw, sucks on the thin skin of her neck, and she gasps, “It is hard to imagine, when I am with you.”

She smiles, “Blaspheme.”

“For you, Celeste, anything.”

She cups his jaw, brings his eyes to her, and there he sees promise, “We will not be apart, even there.”

 He kisses her, “I know,” and for them, it is true.


	4. Chapter 4

Sandalwood taps the end of his pipe against his chair leg, Ti’zo flitting around, lighting the lamps on the small porch as night descends. The nights now are dark, the stars having left to higher places; yes, the night is dark, but the night is good.

Sandalwood smiles, refills his pipe and borrows Ti’zo’s light as he flies overhead.

“Enjoying yourself?”

Ti’zo grins, his fangs gleaming in the firelight, and mumbles affectionately.

The door to the porch opens, Oralech carrying a full tray of tea and hot water, stumbling out into the night, his horns catching on the top of the frame.

They are smaller, now, his hooves almost gone.

“Need some help?” Sandalwood asks, knees creaking as he rises from the chair, but Oralech growls slightly, and so he sits back with a chuckle.

Ti’zo smirks right along with him.


	5. Chapter 5

“… the caravan was blue the whole time!”

Rukey looks at her, expectantly, and although the joke is far from what she considers funny, she finds it in herself to laugh.

Because when she does, Rukey’s face lights up, and she thinks that perhaps a little bit of the darkness within him disappears. She feels it too.


	6. Chapter 6

His laughter is sharp and grating across the square, and when Rukey turns to him, it looks like Barker is as surprised as him at his own outburst.

There is an awkward moment where everyone stares, curious, before turning back to their own business, but Rukey continues to watch Ashpaws, his heart pounding deeply in his chest.

Neither moves, and after a long moment, Rukey begins to approach. His head high, back straight, legs shaking with a little fear, but mostly nervousness.

Before he can get close, Barker retreats, his tail between his legs, no second glance behind him.

Rukey stands, a moment, before looking at the faces around him – different faces of different races, all living together now under the Union.

And so, that night, with the promise of a new life for himself, he sends a gift addressed to Barker Ashpaws. An old relic from the Downside – a real one, not one of his many replicas – made to inspire hope in the user. Perhaps Barker will take it as an insult, but then again, Rukey somehow hopes he does – if to feel anything at all.


End file.
